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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24827608">Things Come With Time</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specter_Fox1/pseuds/Specter_Fox1'>Specter_Fox1</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No Fandom, Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anxiety Disorder, Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, Foursome - F/F/M/M, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Summaries, M/M, Mute OC, Not Beta Read, Polyamorous relationship, Polyamory, Rating May Change, Tags May Change, Trauma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:07:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,190</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24827608</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Specter_Fox1/pseuds/Specter_Fox1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Life should have been easy for someone of her age. Sadly, the author is a vindictive little shit.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Female Character/ Original Female character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Original Male Character/ Original Male Character</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Things Come With Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>TW: This story contains heavy and graphic amounts of child abuse. Please leave if this will cause a problem or if you have an issue with it. Thank you.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     She shivered in the frigid air, the icy wind lashing at her back. She drew the thin material of her jacket closer to her body, seeking the little warmth it could provide. The snow fell lightly around and on her violently shaking form, teeth chattering in an aching, unsteady rhythm. The land around her was a blanket of white, stretching far beyond the horizon. She could tell her body was freezing out here despite the numbness that overtook every part of her. At least she could no longer feel the burning pain of her broken bones. To top it off, the earlier storm had slowed, ceasing its torment. At least this time was better than the others. The thought saddened her. None of this was right, she knew that much. Sadly, she knew the punishment for speaking up (if she decided to speak at all). She recalled them throwing her out. She was in the backyard for obvious reasons, except… she didn’t know why they threw her out in the first place. What had she done this time? Forgotten the dishes? No, she got to those a few minutes before starting dinner. Maybe she forgot to clean her siblings’ rooms? She distinctly recalls putting one a doll on its shelf and a book on the nightstand. Maybe they didn’t like the way she arranged the rooms? That sounds about right. Although, there could be any number of reasons for their cruelty at this point. Hell, one of them could have just been in a really bad mood tonight.<br/>     She allowed herself to sink into her mind. Thoughts swirled around in her head; thoughts about what she’s going to have to do when they eventually (hopefully) let her back in; thoughts about how to improve the meals she’ll have to cook them; thoughts of the bed she wants to be in, even if said bed is under the floorboards. It was something, she thought. She snapped to attention as her stomach gave a loud growl, demanding the food she had been denying it since she woke up yesterday. She sighed as the gnawing ache grew more prominent. Her throat hurt, dry as it was. She unfurled a little, looking out at the endless white. The snow was a frozen, powdery form of water. That might sate her for a while (as well as stop the pounding in her head). She curled back into herself, turning her face slightly to lick at the snow beneath her.<br/>It wasn’t enough. She would need whatever strength she could get though, which meant she would have to try harder. Sitting up, just enough that she could get her ragged, torn hand under her, she scooped some of the snow and brought it to her lips. She lapped it up greedily, like a stray dog that hasn’t found a decent meal in months. That’s what she was, she supposed. A dog. Less than that. At least dogs were precious pets. The powder settled in her stomach now. This really would have to do. She scooped more into her dry, cold mouth; the snow felt good against her cracked, oozing lips. She wouldn’t die of thirst, but food was a whole other problem. She started pushing the snow around. It was better to make sure they didn’t see any trace of her getting a necessity. She couldn’t bear to hear their taunting, jeering voices as she was made to fetch objects they threw at her.<br/>     The door to the left of her slammed angrily. She quickly dropped so the person couldn’t tell she had moved. She felt the familiar fear encompass her in a lover's embrace. Cold eyes bored into her shaking form. Her mind was racing. If this was one of her siblings then she would be somewhat okay. She didn’t think it was any of them; if it was, they would have broken the silence by now (or kicked her to get her moving, if that’s what they wanted). It could be her mother. That didn’t seem likely as the slamming of the door sounded too forceful, harsher than her mother. It would seem terror decided to be her friend tonight. The possibility that it was her step-father crossed her mind. Everything seemed to line up with that conclusion. Why wasn’t he doing anything then? Was he out here to beat her again!? No! Not so soon! She couldn’t handle another one right now! It would kill her!<br/>     She heard the shuffling of feet, heavy and loud in her frozen ears. She was almost in tears as the figure got closer and closer to her trembling body. She didn’t want to die! Oh Gods this was bad! The shuffling stopped right behind her as her panic become almost tangible. She braced herself for an impact that would surely break something. Uncurling to look at whoever was there would only get her into more trouble so she didn’t know where the blow would land. Her shaking was violent, rattling her entire frame as she closed her eyes painfully tight, tears burning trails down her cheeks.<br/>She could feel her breathing pick up, chest rising and falling shallowly. Her head was lighter than it should be. Not good. Not good. Not good! She felt the dizziness overtake her. Her final thought before oblivion overtook her was of the last few years. Those thoughts led into spiraling depths the likes of which she feared she wouldn’t return from.<br/>She was in familiar territory now. There was shouting in the kitchen. They were so loud. If only they would remember she was there, with them, holed up in her room. The room itself was filled with toys. Posters from her favorite shows and drawings that were made with the subtle grace and accuracy of a child adorned her walls. That was the only way to describe those drawings; they were made by a child after all. The shouting grew louder as she lay under her bed, fat, salty tears rolling down her reddened cheeks. She wondered if they would ever deign to stop their senseless bickering. The shouts grew and grew until every word was as clear as diamonds shining in the light of day. The neighbors probably heard. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t prevent her sobs from growing along with them.<br/>     “You couldn’t take care of them to save your life! Gods, you’re so useless!” That was a new one, at the time. She could hear the angered crashing of objects being thrown around the room beneath her. “That’s it! You’ve been a pain in my side for far too long!” The scene slowly faded as her sobbing grew and the screams of her parents sank into oblivion. The next thing she saw was her mother walking into the living room where she was happily playing with the stuffed wolf her father gave her when she was a few months old. She looked up to see a bright smile on her mother’s face. A strange man was trailing closely behind her mom. There was a dark look in the man’s eyes and a malicious smile on his lips.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't know what I'm doing. I made myself cry writing this.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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